Case Study: Building a Positive Image Online with Social Media: The Network Solutions Experience Presented by: Shashi Bellamkonda, Social Media Swami, Network Solutions www.bdionline.com

1. Building a Positive Image Online with Social
Media: The Network Solutions Experience
Presented by: Shashi Bellamkonda
Social Media Swami, Network Solutions
Twitter: @shashib on behalf of @netsolcares
03.25.2010
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4. Online Reputation Before
Photo courtesy: http://matchstic.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/06/bad-customer-service.jpg 4

5. 4 Point Social Media Strategy
Brand / Reputation Management
Connecting with Customers
Community Outreach
Get new business
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6. Social Media Implementation
2008
Changed negative online
perceptions to neutral sentiment
Increased positive sentiment
2009
Positioned as Small Business
Thought Leader
Utilized social media beyond
customer service
2010
Leverage social media for
market expansion and leadership
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7. Top Three Accomplishments
Enjoying a positive sentiment online compared
to the negative mentions in 2008.
Shift in perception of Network Solutions® as
not just a domain registrar but also a thought
leader in small business growth.
Network Solutions is often referred to as a
company that has effectively leveraged social
media to maximize customer satisfaction.
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8. First Step: Listen
Team approach to response
Monitor using Radian6 and manual
searches
Classify as crisis or not (>50
Technorati authority or 100 followers)
Classify as general issue or technical
customer service
Engage in a variety of places
Blogs, Twitter, Online forums
Photo courtesy: http://bethnolastname.files.wordpress.com/2008/07/listen.jpg 8

9. Step 2: Content Creation
Blogs
SolutionsArePower
Women Grow Business
Grow Smart Business
Unintentional Entrepreneur
Participation in industry events such as Twitterville
Small Business Success Index
GrowSmartBiz Webinars and Conference
Crisis Management Support
Rebrand
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10. Blogs: Effective Reputation Platform
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11. Manage Online Reputation via Offline Events
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kyeu
ng808/3851709164/sizes/l/
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12. Change Online Perception
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13. Thought Leadership: GrowSmartBiz
Webinars (2)
Over 400+ attendees
20+ blog posts
250+ tweets via
#growbiz and
#growsmartbiz Conference
Over 400+ attendees
Increased @GrowSmartBiz Twitter
followers by 200 and counting
75+ blog posts
1,500+ Tweets
2K+ Tweets with #growsmartbiz
5K participants on livestream 13

14. Maintaining Reputation Amidst Crisis
Created an online forum
to provide information to
merchants and
customers.
Generated over 50+ blog
posts, which Network
Solutions team
responded.
Applauded by many for
use of social media in
crisis management
support.
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15. Step 3: From Listening to Acting
Listened to customer
feedback
Rebranded website
based on feedback
Created a social
media advisory board
Used Twitter and
blogs to market new
rebrand
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16. Step 5: Training other advocates
Social Media
Twitter
Blogging
Bookmarking
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17. Shift from High Negative to High Positive
70
60
50
40
Negative
30
Positive
Neutral
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10
0
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18. 2009 IABC Gold Quill Award
Recognized for online
reputation management
Listening to customers on
social networks
Taking their feedback seriously
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19. What Does 2010 Hold?
Drive more unique visitors to the storefront
Blogger outreach highlighting Network Solutions product offerings
and customer testimonials
Increase user generated content on “How did I benefit from
Network solutions”
Strengthen Network Solutions’ brand identity as leader in
Innovative Online Solutions
Online engagement
Training sessions
Events
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20. Thank you
Shashi Bellamkonda shashib@networksolutions.com
Twitter: @shashib
Small Business Success Index : http://www.GrowSmartBusiness.com
Network Solutions Blog : http://blog.networksolutions.com
Women Entrepreneurs : http://www.WomenGrowBusiness.com
Fresh Entrepreneurs ; http://unintentionalentrepreneur.com
Millenials : http://whatsnextgeny.com
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